Russians want in on mobile phone action

  • 2006-08-09
  • From wire reports
RIGA - Evroset, Russia's largest retailer of cellular phones, is due to open its first outlets in the Baltics in a 10 million euro venture.

Latvia's Bizness & Baltija business daily reported last week that Evroset would open its first stores in Lithuania and Estonia, with stores in Latvia expected to open later.
Evroset's Baltic operations chief, Konstantin Levin, told the paper that over the next year the company would set up 135 to 145 stores in the Baltics 's 25 to 30 in Estonia, 60 to 65 in Lithuania and 50 in Latvia.

The first three stores will open in Vilnius and Kaunas, after which the company will jump to Riga. Levin did not say exactly when Evroset might launch operations in Latvia, but said it might happen this year.
Evroset first announced its plans to expand the chain in the Baltics in March 2005.
Last year, Evroset posted $2.5 billion in turnover. The Evroset chain comprises about 2,400 stores in Russia and other CIS countries.

The company's owners, Timur Artemyev and Yevgeni Chichvarkin, feature in a list of Russia's billionaires published by Russian magazine Finansi.